Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Beyond Telling: A Phenomenology Of Adoptive Parents' Adoption Communication Openness With Early Adolescents, Jane D. Samuel

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Despite calls for increased Adoption Communication Openness (ACO) within the adoptive family, research indicates that families still struggle to accomplish the recommended elements and levels of openness. What could be holding families back from this key process? Three focus groups comprised of 17 adoptive parents of early adolescents (aged 10-14) who were age 0-2 at the time of placement were thematically coded. This inductive analysis revealed the complexity rooted in being —sometimes successfully and sometimes not—communicatively open. Four key themes emerged painting a vivid and rich picture of: a) the breadth and depth of this experience; b) the work entailed; …

Mortgage Loans And Financial Security Among Middle-Aged And Older Americans, Qun Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Mortgage loan debt is prevalent among middle-aged and older Americans. With higher average outstanding balances, many people are unlikely to pay off their mortgage debt by retirement. Meanwhile, as people age, health shocks are more likely to occur. Medical expenses may compete with mortgage payments and relate to financial insecurity in later years. In order to alleviate financial strain during times of financial hardship, senior homeowners may find reverse mortgage the solution they are looking for. Targeting American adults age 50 and older, this dissertation investigates mortgage loan debt and financial security using panel data from the Health and Retirement …

Maternal Relationships, Bullying, And Deviance: A Comparison Of Adolescents With And Without Medical Conditions, Kristina M. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The purpose of the current study was to examine and compare the quality of the mother-adolescent relationship, the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, and the prevalence of externalizing behaviors, as well as the relationship among these constructs, in a clinical and a nonclinical sample of adolescents. It tested a series of hypotheses focused on group differences in the mother-adolescent relationship, peer victimization, and externalizing behaviors (i.e. deviant behaviors and bullying perpetration) for the clinical and nonclinical samples. It also tested the relationships between the mother-adolescent relationship and peer victimization, deviant behaviors, and bullying perpetration, and whether these …

How Does He Do It?: A Phenomenological Study Of Men’S Experience As Teaching-Family Model Providers, Dallin Douglas Parkinson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

About half a million children live in out-of-home care, generally due to state intervention (Children’s Bureau, 2016). The outcomes of youth in treatment are improved when they have stable relationships with caregiving adults. Group homes based on the Teaching-Family Model utilize a married couple who live in the home and are the primary care treatment providers. The present study employed a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of eight men who have worked in this role for at least a year. Intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and motivations were identified as common themes among respondents for how and why they …

Defining Infidelity And Identifying Offending Spouses, Yabin Tang

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Research on infidelity has suffered from inconsistency in how infidelity has been operationalized across studies. This study was designed to advance methodological considerations for defining infidelity and identifying offending spouses. A subjective definition of infidelity was obtained from each respondent via both closed- and open-ended items. The open-ended responses were applied to explore the definition of infidelity. Additionally, an indirect questioning method was adopted to identify offending spouses according to their own subjective definitions of cheating and test the effectiveness of this approach relative to direct questioning for identifying offending spouses. Furthermore, gender differences in acknowledging infidelity through both direct …

Retirement Planning Versus Family Support: What Drives Peoples` Decisions?, Radion Svynarenko

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

A slight majority of American households headed by 55–64-year-olds do not have any savings for retirement, and those who have retirement savings have a median of around $109,000 saved, which is equivalent to an inflation-protected annuity of $405 per month (i.e., well below the official poverty level). Among the main reasons cited for the lack of retirement savings among parents is a desire to provide financial support to their young adult children. Indeed, on the whole, parents spend twice as much on financial support of their adult children as they save for retirement (Merryl Lynch, 2018). Understanding the precursors and …

The Effects Of Parental Divorce And Remarriage On Emerging Adult’S Romantic Attachment Styles, Bailey Mortis

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study shined light on the gap in literature about the impact of communication and involvement of stepparents has on emerging adult’s romantic attachment styles. A sample of 289 college students between the ages of 18 and 22 at the University of Kentucky was recruited to complete an online survey about their perceived experience with their stepparent and parental figures and the effects on their romantic attachment styles. Parental involvement in children’s lives and having good communication, sets the foundation for individuals to have secure attachment styles. Emerging adults who experience parental figures and stepparents as being uninterested or passive …

Caregivers Of Parents With Alzheimer’S Disease: Quality Of Life For Caregivers: Perspectives & Family Dynamics, Matthew Cornu

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study furthers Alzheimer’s family literature regarding the impact of caregiver attachment, readiness to provide care, and caregiver quality of life. A sample of 33 participants caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease in the state of Kentucky was recruited to complete a questionnaire for the study. The questionnaire consisted of an online survey about participants’ experiences and attachments growing up with their parents, their experiences becoming caregivers to their parents with Alzheimer’s disease, and participants’ current perspectives of their own quality of life. Positive perspectives in regards to quality of life among caregivers seem to be a predictor of …

Developmental Sequelae In Language, Empathy, Self-Control, And Psychopathy From Infancy To Middle Adolescence, Magda Javakhishvili

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The present empirical work aims to discern the underlying mechanisms of purported developmental links among several key human characteristics including language skills, self-control, empathy, and psychopathic traits. Accordingly, three interrelated studies are carried out testing the longitudinal associations of various kinds (e.g., direct, indirect, bidirectional) among these constructs. All three studies are conceptually framed in consideration of the extant research and relevant theories. They employ the data set provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of Early Child Care and Youth Development Study of N = 1,364 children followed from infancy through middle adolescence.

Study 1 …

A Closer Look At Internet Addiction, Jakub Mikuška

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Based on a sample of 1,012 late adolescents and young adults (ages 18-26), the current three interrelated studies tested a series of specific questions and hypotheses focused on understanding Internet Addiction.

Study 1 sought to directly compare psychometric properties of four of the most widely used Internet addiction scales based on citation metrics (Internet Addiction Test, Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire, Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 and Chen Internet Addiction Scale), and to aggregate the best items across all scales into a new measure using bifactor IRT analyses. The resulting 10-item Aggregated Internet Addiction Scale (AIAS) consists of the best …